Leadership

Dr. Ben Nneji, President

Dr. Ben Nneji joined the Board to give back and help build Columbia Team spirit. He has helped organize or participated in several CU club initiatives such as Food Drives, CU seminars, Annual Polo Club Events, teaching effective parenting skills and Book Awards. Ben’s other community building efforts include working with Habitat for Humanity to repair houses in Breezy Point, Queens, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy; mid-night food runs to New York City to feed the homeless; among others.

Ben is the founder and president of SigmaWorks Group, a process management, leadership development and management consulting company. Ben implements data-driven solutions to increase growth and productivity in service industries and has led line and corporate teams within the advertising, financial services, telecommunications and retail industries.

Ben holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Columbia and is a senior member of the American Society of Quality

Dr. Bridget Patterson-Marshall, Secretary

Dr. Bridget Patterson-Marshall graduated from the Columbia College of Physicians in 1992 and subsequently trained as a neurologist she now practices. She spent her early years in Guyana, South America, where she attended the Bishops’ High School for girls. Bridget emigrated from Guyana in 1979 and settled in the Brooklyn, NY area.

Bridget initially enrolled in the Columbia University, School of General studies as a part time student, while she worked full time to pay her tuition. She transferred to the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1983 as a full time student, graduating in May 1985 as a chemical engineer. Bridget left her project engineer position at Occidental Chemical Co. to pursue her true calling – to become a medical doctor.

Bridget strongly feels a sense of dedication and duty to Columbia University and the Columbia community. She feels honored by her election to the CUCFC Board.

Ryan Logue, Treasurer

Ryan is a 2012 graduate of Columbia Business School through the Executive MBA program. He moved to Fairfield County in late 2013 with his wife Leeann who is a CBS EMBA ’13 Alum. Ryan became active with the CUCFC shortly after moving to the area in order to meet new people and connect with other Alumni in the area. After meeting the executive board of the CUCFC at several events and learning that the treasurer was looking to transition the responsibilities, he gladly volunteered.

In addition to CUCFC, Ryan is also active in the alumni association of Colgate University. Professionally, Ryan has worked at Morgan Stanley since 2003 and is an Advisor at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, where he works with high net worth families, executives, and foundations. Ryan and his wife currently live in Stamford, where they are keeping busy preparing for the birth of their first child.

Akiva Reckson, Vice President, 35 and Under Alumni Group

Akiva Reckson, after living in Stamford for several years wanted to reconnect therefore joined the Alumni Club in late 2013 to reconnect with Columbia community and contribute to the broader Fairfield County community. His first project was to setup our NationBuilder community organizing and management platform for effective communication with our members.

In effort to engage with Columbia alumni more directly Akiva coordinated a number of social events for recent alumni, including cocktail hours, a ten-pin bowling event, and an outing to a concert in Downtown Stamford. These enjoyable gatherings brought together recent alumni with shared interests, fostering new connections.

Akiva, in contribution to the broader Fairfield community, last year coordinated a daylong food drive for a local food bank. This rewarding experience provided the food bank with ample supplies to last six weeks while furthering the club’s goal of advancing and promoting Columbia University within Fairfield County.

Dr. Alan Sheiner, Vice President, Membership

Dr. Alan Sheiner graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College, and New York University College of Dentistry, where he was first in his class each year. While at Columbia Dr. Sheiner played football and earned a varsity letter in heavyweight crew.

Dr. Sheiner trained at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and maintains a private practice in New York City.

Dr. Sheiner and wife are avid cyclists active in their Connecticut cycling club, SoundCyclists Bicycle Club, where he is the Rides Director. Dr. Sheiner is also on the executive committee for the Columbia Club of Fairfield County, where he has been Vice President for Membership the past two years. Dr. Sheiner is also a registered contributor to patch.com where he has authored articles on both dentistry and cycling.

Desiree Wolfe, Vice President, Marketing & Technology

Desiree Wolfe is Webster Bank’s Director of Product Management, with responsibility over the Deposits, Lending, Payments, and Investments product lines for the Consumer, Wealth and Small Business segments. Desiree has over 15 years of experience managing products and implementing marketing programs. In 2013, Desiree received the “40 Under 40 Award” from the Fairfield County Business Journal.

A resident of Shelton, Conn., Wolfe earned her Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her MBA from Columbia Business School. She serves on the Boards of the Fairfield County Columbia University Club (since 2010), the Living Word Community Church (since 2011), and the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame (since 2013).

As Vice President of Marketing and Technology for the CUCFC, Desiree is primarily responsible for maintaining the PayPal interface for the club’s events and membership initiatives. She has also served as the program coordinator for club’s Operation Hope Community Outreach in 2010 and 2012.

Tom Leder, Vice President, Community Service/Outreach Programs

After Columbia College graduation in 1989, Tom Leder started as a clerk on the New York Mercantile Exchange for Chicago Research & Trading Company. Tom, then transitioned to their Treasury bond desk where for four years, he traded zero coupon bonds for both UBS Securities and Barclays both in NYC and in London for a six-month period.

During the latter part of Tom’s professional life, he has worked as a financial advisor, most recently as a representative for MassMutual Financial Group.

For the last three years, Tom has served on the CUCFC Board, working closely with the other VP for community service to teach at St. Joseph’s Parenting Center, which provides parenting education and support for at-risk families throughout Fairfield County. Along with the ongoing work at the parenting center, Tom has donated his time to the club’s annual food drive, which benefits the local food pantry.

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